Fibrosis complicates a number of chronic inflammatory diseases and occurs in some conditions following chronic hypereosinophilic syndromes. We assessed whether eosinophils might be a source of fibrogenic factors. Extracts of human and guinea pig cell populations enriched for eosinophils contained substances that stimulated tritiated thymidine incorporation by human fibroblasts. Supernatants der...

Eosinophils of the gastrointestinal tract are involved in the host immune response that occurs in the presence of the pathogens in the digestive lumen, taking part in maintaining the homeostasis of the gastrointestinal epithelium. Their involvement in inflammatory processes of chronic gastritis is less known. In our study, we identified the presence of eosinophils in chorion gastric mucosa (lam...

The presence of eosinophils was compared in nasal biopsy and smear. Thirty-two nonallergic rhinitis patients, of whom six had nasal polyps, were included in the study. The specimens were studied light-microscopically after staining with hematoxylin-eosin. The association between the presence of polyps and the finding of eosinophils in the biopsy specimens proved to be significant. Ten normal su...

Eosinophils have traditionally been associated with allergic diseases and parasite infection. Research advances in the recent decades have brought evolutionary changes in our understanding of eosinophil biology and its roles in immunity. It is currently recognized that eosinophils play multiple roles in both innate and adaptive immunity. As effector cells in innate immunity, eosinophils exert a...

Interleukin 5 (IL-5) acts on eosinophil differentiation and activation, suggesting the existence of a membrane receptor for IL-5 on eosinophils. Here, we report that 125I-labeled recombinant human IL-5 bound, at 4 degrees C, to high affinity receptors on human eosinophils. The association constant was higher for hypodense eosinophils (1.93 x 10(9) M-1) than for normodense cells (0.39 x 10(9) M-...

In general, inflammatory cells cross basement membranes by producing proteinases. To investigate the role of proteinases in eosinophil basement membrane migration, we studied peripheral blood eosinophils in Matrigel-coated chemotaxis chambers. Electron microscopy showed degradation of the Matrigel layer when eosinophils, added to the upper chamber, transmigrated the membrane in the presence of ...

Eosinophils are recruited to the lung in response to infection with pneumovirus pathogens and have been associated with both the pathophysiologic sequelae of infection and, more recently, with accelerated virus clearance. Here, we demonstrate that the pneumovirus pathogens, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pneumonia virus of mice (PVM), can infect human and mouse eosinophils, respectively,...

BACKGROUND Eosinophils are important effector cells in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases such as bronchial asthma. Oxidative stress in the form of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several allergic diseases. Recently, it has become evident that mitochondrial-derived ROS are important transducers of apoptosis and intracellular signaling. In thi...

INTRODUCTION In teenagers with perennial allergic rhinitis, exposure to tobacco cigarette smoke increases the count of eosinophils in the nasal mucosa; the recruitment of eosinophils arises from the combined action of a number of cellular and molecular signals, including eotaxin. OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of exposure to tobacco cigarette smoke on the count of immunoreactive cells to eota...

We have compared the oxidative metabolism of human eosinophils (80%-90% purity) to that of neutrophils. Hexose monophosphate (HMP) shunt activity of eosinophils was higher than that of neutrophils under either resting or phagocytizing conditions. Eosinophil HMP shunt activity also was stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate, a membrane-active agent. Eosinophils showed a marked incorporation of ...